Maker: Jessica Lissaman

Panel number: 255

Petition sheet number: 313

Person honouring: Ada E. Lissaman

Relationship to maker: Both married into Lissaman family

Ada Foster was born in Heidelburg, Australia in 1858. She trained and worked as a teacher’s assistant in North Canterbury, and married Alaric Lissaman in 1886.

They had two sons: Selwyn, who was academic and became a chemist, and Alaric Disraeli who died in France towards the end of World War 1. 

Ada maintained her teacher registration while her children were young. The family moved to Te Kuiti in 1910, although the address given when Ada signed the suffrage petition was Palmerston North. Ada was known for her fine alto singing voice and the success of her performances was reported in the newspapers.

She died in Te Kuiti in 1924, aged 64.

Panel materials: Cross-stitch fabric, cotton fabric, embroidered linen, silk embroidery threads, manufactured lace trim and paper. I already had all the materials, including a table mat of Hardanger embroidery created by my daughter’s great-grandmother and some of her silk embroidery threads.